Progress on EPC targets has slowed since 2020 despite tighter standards and available grants
The energy performance of UK homes has continued to improve over the past decade, but new data indicate that the private rented sector has not advanced more quickly than the resale market, despite targeted policy measures.
Rightmove’s 2025 Greener Homes Report shows that, while the overall rented stock is more energy efficient than homes for sale, recent and proposed regulation has not produced a step change in the pace of upgrades. The findings suggest that policy initiatives alone have not been sufficient to overcome the cost and complexity of improving properties.
The introduction of a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of ‘E’ for rental properties in 2020, alongside proposals for a future minimum of EPC ‘C’, has not translated into faster progress over the subsequent five years. According to the report, the rate of improvement has slowed in both tenure types compared with the previous five-year period.
Between 2015 and 2020, the proportion of rental homes with an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above rose from 41% to 52%. From 2020 to 2025, this share increased further, but only to 58%. Over the same periods in the resale market, homes rated EPC ‘C’ or above rose from 29% to 40%, and then from 40% to 46%.
According to the Rightmove report, around 3% of the energy efficiency gains made in each market over the last five years occurred in just the past 12 months. It remains uncertain, however, whether this recent uptick in activity will continue.
Regional analysis highlights continuing divergence across Great Britain. London has the highest proportion of rental properties with an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above at 66%, while Wales has the lowest at 48%. Over a 10-year period, the North West has recorded the largest improvement in rental stock, with a 23 percentage point rise, whereas the South West has seen the slowest growth at 11 percentage points.
The report also underlines how greener features are increasingly used as a point of differentiation in property marketing. Mentions of “green technology” in listings on Rightmove have risen, with references to heat pumps up 46% year on year and mentions of solar panels up 37%.
The analysis points to a substantial cost gap between the most and least efficient homes. Properties with an EPC rating of ‘A’ are reported to have average annual energy bills of £571, compared with £6,368 for homes rated EPC ‘G’.
Source: Rightmove Greener Homes Report
Financial considerations remain the primary driver of energy upgrades. Saving on energy bills is cited as the main motivation by 83% of respondents, while 42% identify reducing their carbon footprint as a key reason for making changes. Among those who have carried out improvements, 58% say they are motivated by a better quality of life, 30% believe green upgrades add value to the property, and 19% think that installing green technology makes their home more attractive to potential buyers.
Despite the availability of government grants, 63% of people surveyed say they have no plans to undertake green improvements in the next 12 months, and only 11% are actively taking steps to access grant funding. The report suggests that, even where support is offered, financial incentives alone may not be enough to drive widespread action.
“Policy ambition hasn’t translated into real-world acceleration,” said Colleen Babcock (pictured right), property expert at Rightmove. “We might have expected green improvements to speed up in the rental sector following policy pushes, but the data shows progress over the past five years has been slower than the previous five.
“For landlords, the challenge is balancing compliance with cost and potential value appreciation; and for renters, it’s about finding homes that deliver real savings. Energy efficiency isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for the pocket too, and making it easier to achieve will be key to unlocking faster change.”
For mortgage and housing professionals, the findings underline the importance of understanding regional and tenure-based differences in energy performance, the growing weight of running costs in borrower and tenant decisions, and the potential for EPC standards and green technologies to influence property values and lending risk over time.
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